Etymologically
Log in

across

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 15 October 2026 at 19:50. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /əˈkrɒs/, US /əˈkrɑːs/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English acros (earlier a-croiz, o cros), borrowed from Anglo-Norman an cros (“in the form of a cross”) or en croiz,[2][3][4] formed from en (“in, on”) and croiz (“cross”),[5][4] from Latin crux (“cross”).[5][4] The French phrase was reshaped after native words beginning in a- and the noun cross.[6][7][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

In the shape of a cross: o cros, probably before 1200;[2][3] “in a crossed position”, a-croiz, about 1300.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

“From one side to another” is from about 1325[2] or the early 14th century.[3] The preposition is recorded in 1538 according to the Historical Thesaurus,[8] and in 1591, in Shakespeare's Henry VI, according to Barnhart.[2][9] The sense “on the other side, as a result of crossing” is from 1750[3] or 1816.[10] In crossword clues it is used from 1924.[3][10] Get something across, “make it understood”, is by 1913, probably from the theatre phrase get it across the footlights,[3] and come across, “to hand over money or information”, is slang from 1910.[10] Across the board, “covering all categories”, is from 1945, said to come from betting on a horse to win, place and show.[3]

Timeline

  • before 1200 – o cros, crosswise.[2]
  • c. 1300 – a-croiz, crossed.[2][3]
  • c. 1325 – from one side to another.[2]
  • 1591 – preposition (Shakespeare).[2]
  • 1750 – on the other side.[3]
  • 1910 – come across, to hand over.[10]
  • 1913 – get across.[3]
  • 1924 – in crossword clues.[3][10]
  • 1945 – across the board.[3]

Modern meaning

Preposition

  1. On, at or from the other side of.
  2. From one side of something to the other.
  3. Into contact with: came across an old friend.

Adverb

  1. From one side to the other.
  2. On or to the opposite side.
  3. Crosswise; crossed.
  4. So as to be understood or accepted: got the point across.
  5. Of a crossword clue, written horizontally.

Word family

  • across-the-board
  • come across
  • get across
  • put across

Usage notes

Etymonline notes the dialectal or nonstandard spelling acrost, recorded by 1759,[3] and Merriam-Webster gives the pronunciation with a final t as chiefly dialectal.[9] In Yorkshire dialect across could mean “on bad terms”, and of time “about”.[11]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  5. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), 4th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  6. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  9. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  10. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  11. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)